By Evan Vitale

Can a business angel help your start-up or expanding business with the financing you need?

Probably.

However, this are many things to learn about a business angel; how they work and, most importantly, how do you find a business angel?

Simply put, a business angel is an individual who offers the financial backing you need to fund your startup or take your business to the next level. Angels are everywhere. They are professionals, retirees, doctors, lawyers, business owners. They are successful and they are interested in finding business investment opportunities.

The most difficult part about connecting with a business angel is finding them. It’s not like they are listed in the phonebook or have a website saying “I’m a business angel, please send me your proposals.”

Instead, you have to find them. How?

• Start by talking to family; friends and close business associates.
• Attend networking events and meet new people. Don’t rush in with your financial needs. You need to develop a relationship and build trust. This takes time.
• Increase your marketing and social media efforts. Make you and your business more visible. Angels will be watching your progress.
• Earn more local public relations. Write press releases; submit story ideas to local newspapers, television and radio stations. Again, all of this will not going get the attention of a potential angel, but it might also help you earn new clients and increase your revenues.

A friend of mine would eat lunch two-three times a year with a potential angel. The angel would invite him to lunch so he could be kept up-to-date on how his business was progressing. However, my friend had no idea his lunch pal was an angel that could someday be potentially interested in investing in his startup company.

The biggest key in finding an angel is to build strong, lasting relationships. Your connections might introduce you to an angel someday or, perhaps, an unknown angel will knock on your door when you least expect it.